Stem cell therapy breathes life into 12 year old autistic girl

The family of the city-based12-year-old Vanshika Gupta, which was living a life of hopelessness because of the child’s health, is now springing back to life. The rejuvenation comes thanks to medical history created by stem cell therapy and the transformation it has brought about to the child.

When there was no hope of seeing Vanshika living a normal life and myriad visits to physicians, pediatricians and neurologists coming a cropper, the family approached Mumbai-based NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute-StemAsia Hospital ad Research Centre. That proved to be the life-saviour as the child who was subject to their unique but proven therapy.

Presenting the girl before the media, the institute’s Deputy Director, Dr Nandini Gokulchandran, pointed out that when Vanshika was referred to them in the middle of last year, she was suffering from Intellectual Disability, a generally presumed non-curable autism disorder, and able to only speak in monosyllables.

She said that the case study was rather gloomy as the girl has all the symptoms of autism-restlessness, fleeting eye contact, poor concentration, throwing tantrums among other things.

In November she underwent a stem cell therapy with a customized rehabilitation program at NeuroGen. Dr Nandini explained that the outcome was positive with Vanshika responding well to the treatment. There was marked improvement in all activities of the girl, who had developed better eye contact.

After getting enrolled in a school her social interactions showed vast improvements, To the Gupta family the miracle had ignited their life because the girl was behaving like any other normal child of her age. Dr Nandini said that stem cell therapy worked best on autism cases. She said boys were more prone to autism, and the symptoms can generally be noted when the child is a mere three years old.

Stem cell therapy marks a healthy development considering that there is no proven cure for autism except lifelong management that revolves around behaviourial, nutritional, sensory and symptomatic medical interventions. As such, diagnosis is, by and large clinical in nature.